Hydrocarbon-producing wells often are stimulated by hydraulic fracturing operations, wherein a servicing fluid such as a fracturing fluid or a perforating fluid may be introduced into a portion of a subterranean formation penetrated by a wellbore at a hydraulic pressure sufficient to create or enhance at least one fracture therein. Such a subterranean formation stimulation treatment may increase hydrocarbon production from the well.
In some wellbores, it may be desirable to selectively create multiple fractures along a wellbore at a distance apart from each other, for example, thereby stimulating multiple “pay zones.” The multiple fractures should each have adequate conductivity, so that the greatest possible quantity of hydrocarbons in an oil and gas reservoir can be produced from the wellbore. Some pay zones may extend a substantial distance along the length of a wellbore.
In order to adequately induce the formation of fractures within such zones in an efficient manner, it may be advantageous to introduce a stimulation fluid into the formation via a plurality of points of entry positioned along the wellbore and adjacent to multiple zones of the formation. Individually treating each zone can be time-consuming and may necessitate additional equipment, for example, to isolate points of entry adjacent to the point of entry utilized to treat a particular zone.
After the formation and/or one or more zones thereof have been stimulated a route of fluid communication from the formation to the surface must be provided, for example, for the production of formation fluids.
However, conventional servicing equipment and/or methods of using the same in the performance of a servicing operation have proven inadequate in many situations. As such, there exists a need for a method and the associated equipment that will allow an operator to introduce a stimulation fluid into a formation and/or one or more zones thereof, for example, to create fractures while assuring adequate distribution of treatment fluid and, thereafter, to provide a route of fluid communication for the production of formation fluids. Particularly, there exists a need for methods, and the equipment utilized in the performance of such methods, that will allow an operator to both stimulate a formation and produce therefrom, for example with a single apparatus.